Circadian Rhythm News and Research

Latest Circadian Rhythm News and Research

Bright light therapy may aid patients with depressive and bipolar disorders

A report in the November Cell Metabolism reveals powerful effects of light on the adrenal glands, a finding that might explain the broad benefits of bright light therapy for a variety of conditions, including sleep and depressive disorders, according to researchers.

14 Nov 2005

Circadian rhythm - two key groups of neurons control morning and evening activity

A Brandeis University study published in Nature shows for the first time that a molecular signal maintains coherence among brain clock cells that regulate daily activity of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies).

14 Nov 2005

Simple, at-home treatment for jet lag

A simple, at-home treatment -- a single light box and the over-the-counter drug melatonin -- allows travelers to avoid jet lag by resetting their circadian body clock before crossing several time zones, according to new research being published in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

3 Nov 2005

How the brain tracks time is essential to understanding all its functions

The brain is a "time machine," assert Duke neuroscientists Catalin Buhusi and Warren Meck. And understanding how the brain tracks time is essential to understanding all its functions. The brain's internal clocks coordinate a vast array of activities from communicating, to orchestrating movement, to getting food, they said.

30 Oct 2005

Talk therapy effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder

The alterations start every year around October just after the end of daylight savings time. For most, the clock shift just adds an hour to the weekend -- but for sufferers of seasonal affective disorder, a syndrome involving recurring bouts of depression during fall and winter months, it marks the beginning of a difficult time of year when many forgo an after-work run for a nap, watch television instead of walk the dog, or sleep later in the morning.

30 Oct 2005

Researchers find gene that is important for the control of fundamental rhythms in nematode worms

University of Utah biologists found a gene that controls rhythmic events in a worm's life: swallowing food, laying eggs and pooping.

9 Oct 2005

Computer model shows biochemical variations, or noise, leads to oscillations in gene regulation that couldn't otherwise be predicted

Geneticists have debated for decades the relative importance of nature versus nurture in determining how an animal looks and behaves, and now University of California, San Diego (UCSD) scientists report that noise could also be an important factor in determining phenotype.

3 Oct 2005

Temperature can regulate the circadian clock in zebrafish

The biological clock controls the circadian rhythms of a wide range of physiological and behavioral processes, from fluctuating hormone levels to sleep - wake cycles and feeding patterns.

27 Sep 2005

New method to measure circadian cycles

Everyone knows morning people and late-night owls. The variation in individual circadian rhythms is an anecdotal as well as experimentally verified fact. But, until now, to systematically study circadian differences (and thereby hope to rout out the underlying genetic causes), scientists have had to rely on prolonged behavioural observation.

27 Sep 2005

Natural daily body rhythms may influence the effectiveness of spinal-epidural pain medication

The study found that women who had day labor got longer pain relief than women with night labor with the same amount of labor pain medicine.

19 Sep 2005

New insight into how protein E75 may control circadian rhythms and metabolic processes

University of Toronto researchers have gained new insight into how a specific protein may control circadian rhythms and metabolic processes, which has implications for treating cholesterol-related diseases.

28 Jul 2005

Serotonin may play a role in maintaining circadian rhythm

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have determined how serotonin decreases the body's sensitivity to light and that exposure to constant darkness leads to a decrease in serotonin levels in the brain of fruit flies.

12 Jul 2005

European working time directive may put doctors' and patients' lives at risk

Introduced in August 2004, it aims to reduce working hours in order to improve workers’ health and safety, but the current NHS shift system could threaten doctors’ and, moreover, patients’ safety, argue Professor Roy Pounder and colleagues.

16 Jun 2005

Circadian clock gene also plays pivotal role in drug addiction

The gene that regulates the body's main biological clocks also may play a pivotal role in drug addiction, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

13 Jun 2005

Early to bed okay, but early to rise might not make Jack a bright boy

Researchers in the U.S. say that an early start to school classes in the mornings means many teenagers lose much needed sleep and that makes them more likely to be moody and perform poorly in school.

6 Jun 2005

Current high school start times deprive adolescents of sleep

Current high school start times deprive adolescents of sleep and force students to perform academically in the early morning, a time of day when they are at their worst, according to a study in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics.

6 Jun 2005

Obstructive sleep apnea significantly increases the risk of suffering a stroke

Moderate to severe cases of the nighttime breathing problem known as obstructive sleep apnea significantly increases the risk of suffering a stroke, according to a study to be presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference on May 23.

23 May 2005

Hour of day and time of year has significant impact on blood pressure levels

The odds of measuring an elevated blood pressure can vary by as much as 40 percent depending on the time of day and time of year, according to researchers from the Center for Health Research and Rural Advocacy at Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania. They recommend that clinicians anticipate changes in blood pressure due to these temporal factors when diagnosing and considering treatment options for their patients.

16 May 2005

Adolescents who don't get enough sleep might be jeopardizing their athletic performance,

"Young people live in nearly a constant state of chronic insufficient sleep," says Carskadon, "and adolescents who don't get enough sleep on a regular basis are extremely impaired in the morning."

10 May 2005

Cancer treatment - timing is everything

Research led by a cancer biologist at The Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute has identified a molecular mechanism that links the body's internal clock to daily variations in how a patient responds to cancer treatment.

28 Apr 2005